One of the greatest threats posed to the Catholic Church, and in a much grander sense, humanity today is a startling and unsettling character of indifference within our world.
Just think about that. Indifference has become a norm, while earnest devotion and zeal for the truth has become the exception. A wise man is no longer an admired man, but instead, a despised man. A fun-loving simpleton who lives off of booze and women becomes the hero of any party, and the object of every teenager's admiration.
If one honestly seeks the truth, he is either met with sarcastic belittlement (think "dude, that's way too heavy" or "wow, who cares? that's morbid') or even worse, indifference ("whatever you like man, if that's what you're into). The truth is no longer the goal, but rather, a hindrance to living life as it was meant to be lived out "freely and without any semblance of guilt or regret".
One time in the church's history has a similar indifference come about; however, while now this indifference comes from a complete separation of church from state, and similarily, church from personal life, the church's prior experience of widespread indifference came during its period of greatest control and rule; the Middle Ages (Dark Ages as so named by historians, though that is debatable).
During the "Dark" Ages (1200-1450 approximately), the Church had risen to a point of complete dominion over state affairs. The Pope, not the king of England or Spain or France, was the most powerful figure of Europe, and he weilded that power with all the regality and wealth that befitted a person of his noble stature. However, in many ways this was abused, though I will not go into detail. The important thing to remember is that during this time the faith, which had been paved and borne by the blood and struggle of the early martyrs, was now left stagnant and left to shrivel up, until only a few drops of zeal was left amidst what used to be lakes and oceans of it.
The true faith, which consists of sincere love and devotion for Christ combined with worship of the truth and the acquisition of it, was left to dry out because the faith was so secure in its own right. Protocols of politics and economics overtook practices of selflessness and piety. The priesthood itself became a right of passage into higher ranks, rather than a chance to serve and to empty oneself so that Christ's love may use one as a conduit to others.
With this drying out and loss of genuine zeal for the faith, the lifeblood of the Church, the Church itself began to stray from its purpose and mission. It began to work for the rich, which in turn worked for it, so that the cycle of giving left out the very group it was supposed to protect the most; the common people. Thus, the common people soon lost their interest. If one wonders why so many peasants and lower-middle class people took up the Protestant way so readily, it is partly because the ways of the Catholic church had failed to serve their interests.
Indifference then became the cause of Catholicism's greatest loss in history, for the number of souls who were/have been lost, or at least had to find a different route to redemption, due to the schisms that were to follow (both the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation) is incalculable. Indifference, which was fed because the Church had become too controlling and too bureacratic, in a word, too worldly. By cramming the practice (or maybe the illusion?) of faith into the world's collective throat, they ended up taking the very faith out at the same time, and replacing it with a dry and lifeless thing. Without Love.
Indifference today is the exact opposite, for while the original stemmed from the overextension and mismanaged presentation of the Church (it being too materialistic), the current indifference is bred from a complete separation from the Church. After church was separated from state in the late 1700s and early 1800s acround the world, it was easy to see that one's job, then one's personal life, would be soon to follow.
It's very easy to work in selective "boxes" of reality. For instance, the self you portray at school/work is very different from the self you may portray at home. Around your friends, you usually are alot less critical than with your family (especially siblings). With each person, with each group, you have different expectations and thus, a different attitude. Only a truly authentic person escapes these boxes and creates an all around being throughout...a person that is who they are to the core, regardless of the situation.
Thus, our culture today is filled with "box" Catholics, and "box" christians. This is truly just another sign of indifference, for if one felt true love and enthusiasm for their faith, they would see no reason for boxes. In fact, they would resent this box world, because they would realize that while we are all contained within our boxes, the truth can no longer resound. If we believe in one thing in Church, but then another thing when we're with friends, then that doesn't show true belief, that shows true duplicity, and a genuine falsehood (if such a contradiction exists, it is in such a life). We cannot find truth when we sanction our faith off into one corner of our lives, but do not allow it to flow into every aspect of our lives.
Indifference nowadays is not caused by too much church or practice, but rather, not enough. Even when it is practiced, its sanctioned off to sundays, or personal prayer. It has become a habit of ours to very readily separate our everyday life from our spiritual life, so much that we become two different people. This duplicity can only hurt us in the end.
How do we combat such indifference? It's a difficult task, and one that may very well be impossible without divine intervention. The problem isn't the same as our past, for in the past people were still able to use the power of logic to fight and combat enemies of the faith. Great writers such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas More, used logic to fight their battles with the aid of love for both the truth and the faith.
However, how do you combat something that doesn't use logic as its basis, but rather, pure animalistic sense? Whether it be pleasure or science that a man uses as its primary motivation, it is very difficult to appeal either of them to a higher truth. When one only believes what his heart feels (emotion) or what his eye sees (science), how can one believe in something so far beyond simple observation?
I think its possible to fight indifference, but in the end, it must be a combination of both our own personal effort and Christ acting through us. We are meant to be conduits, not sparkplugs. We only initiate the action, but what Christ chooses to flow through us will determine whether we are successful in our endeavors to bring others to the truth...his truth, in case we ever get proud enough to start thinking that we are the ones to be credited.
Little miracles together with little actions everyday, is the solution to bringing a genuine love for the faith back to humanity. And when we provide good examples to the world around us, we ultimately serve the faith better than any amount of motivational speaking or profound writing.
God Bless,
Sleepless
Just think about that. Indifference has become a norm, while earnest devotion and zeal for the truth has become the exception. A wise man is no longer an admired man, but instead, a despised man. A fun-loving simpleton who lives off of booze and women becomes the hero of any party, and the object of every teenager's admiration.
If one honestly seeks the truth, he is either met with sarcastic belittlement (think "dude, that's way too heavy" or "wow, who cares? that's morbid') or even worse, indifference ("whatever you like man, if that's what you're into). The truth is no longer the goal, but rather, a hindrance to living life as it was meant to be lived out "freely and without any semblance of guilt or regret".
One time in the church's history has a similar indifference come about; however, while now this indifference comes from a complete separation of church from state, and similarily, church from personal life, the church's prior experience of widespread indifference came during its period of greatest control and rule; the Middle Ages (Dark Ages as so named by historians, though that is debatable).
During the "Dark" Ages (1200-1450 approximately), the Church had risen to a point of complete dominion over state affairs. The Pope, not the king of England or Spain or France, was the most powerful figure of Europe, and he weilded that power with all the regality and wealth that befitted a person of his noble stature. However, in many ways this was abused, though I will not go into detail. The important thing to remember is that during this time the faith, which had been paved and borne by the blood and struggle of the early martyrs, was now left stagnant and left to shrivel up, until only a few drops of zeal was left amidst what used to be lakes and oceans of it.
The true faith, which consists of sincere love and devotion for Christ combined with worship of the truth and the acquisition of it, was left to dry out because the faith was so secure in its own right. Protocols of politics and economics overtook practices of selflessness and piety. The priesthood itself became a right of passage into higher ranks, rather than a chance to serve and to empty oneself so that Christ's love may use one as a conduit to others.
With this drying out and loss of genuine zeal for the faith, the lifeblood of the Church, the Church itself began to stray from its purpose and mission. It began to work for the rich, which in turn worked for it, so that the cycle of giving left out the very group it was supposed to protect the most; the common people. Thus, the common people soon lost their interest. If one wonders why so many peasants and lower-middle class people took up the Protestant way so readily, it is partly because the ways of the Catholic church had failed to serve their interests.
Indifference then became the cause of Catholicism's greatest loss in history, for the number of souls who were/have been lost, or at least had to find a different route to redemption, due to the schisms that were to follow (both the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation) is incalculable. Indifference, which was fed because the Church had become too controlling and too bureacratic, in a word, too worldly. By cramming the practice (or maybe the illusion?) of faith into the world's collective throat, they ended up taking the very faith out at the same time, and replacing it with a dry and lifeless thing. Without Love.
Indifference today is the exact opposite, for while the original stemmed from the overextension and mismanaged presentation of the Church (it being too materialistic), the current indifference is bred from a complete separation from the Church. After church was separated from state in the late 1700s and early 1800s acround the world, it was easy to see that one's job, then one's personal life, would be soon to follow.
It's very easy to work in selective "boxes" of reality. For instance, the self you portray at school/work is very different from the self you may portray at home. Around your friends, you usually are alot less critical than with your family (especially siblings). With each person, with each group, you have different expectations and thus, a different attitude. Only a truly authentic person escapes these boxes and creates an all around being throughout...a person that is who they are to the core, regardless of the situation.
Thus, our culture today is filled with "box" Catholics, and "box" christians. This is truly just another sign of indifference, for if one felt true love and enthusiasm for their faith, they would see no reason for boxes. In fact, they would resent this box world, because they would realize that while we are all contained within our boxes, the truth can no longer resound. If we believe in one thing in Church, but then another thing when we're with friends, then that doesn't show true belief, that shows true duplicity, and a genuine falsehood (if such a contradiction exists, it is in such a life). We cannot find truth when we sanction our faith off into one corner of our lives, but do not allow it to flow into every aspect of our lives.
Indifference nowadays is not caused by too much church or practice, but rather, not enough. Even when it is practiced, its sanctioned off to sundays, or personal prayer. It has become a habit of ours to very readily separate our everyday life from our spiritual life, so much that we become two different people. This duplicity can only hurt us in the end.
How do we combat such indifference? It's a difficult task, and one that may very well be impossible without divine intervention. The problem isn't the same as our past, for in the past people were still able to use the power of logic to fight and combat enemies of the faith. Great writers such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas More, used logic to fight their battles with the aid of love for both the truth and the faith.
However, how do you combat something that doesn't use logic as its basis, but rather, pure animalistic sense? Whether it be pleasure or science that a man uses as its primary motivation, it is very difficult to appeal either of them to a higher truth. When one only believes what his heart feels (emotion) or what his eye sees (science), how can one believe in something so far beyond simple observation?
I think its possible to fight indifference, but in the end, it must be a combination of both our own personal effort and Christ acting through us. We are meant to be conduits, not sparkplugs. We only initiate the action, but what Christ chooses to flow through us will determine whether we are successful in our endeavors to bring others to the truth...his truth, in case we ever get proud enough to start thinking that we are the ones to be credited.
Little miracles together with little actions everyday, is the solution to bringing a genuine love for the faith back to humanity. And when we provide good examples to the world around us, we ultimately serve the faith better than any amount of motivational speaking or profound writing.
God Bless,
Sleepless
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